Recent Press

"Color is extremely important," she told The Times, pointing to groupings of archived paintings that range in hue from deep rusts and reds to royal blues and teals, citrons, and mossy greens. Color is what first draws the eye to Ms. Colter's paintings. But it is the complexity of shapes and patterns that holds the viewer's interest.- excerpt from "Deborah T. Colter’s extraordinary abstract view",Karla Araujo - Martha's Vineyard Times, 7/10/13

"Her distinctive abstract paintings are meticulously considered planes and layers of colors in well-ordered geometric landscapes. Using an adhering gel, she incorporates paper onto the surface, brushing them with colors that create surface textures. Her paintings reveal clarity, mastery, and confidence as she selectively employs mixed media, linear embellishments, and punctuations of color."-excerpt from "Deborah T. Colter's abstract landscapes",CK Wolfson - Martha's Vineyard Times 7/22/11

"In Colter’s work, even circles, lines, and squares are mysterious things. Bolstering the effect is her technical working style: a collage-like process of building layers of acrylic paint with paper and other materials, sanding the surface, scratching it, and building again."-excerpt from "Deborah T. Colter" Mary Grauerholz - Cape Cod Life 2011 Special Arts Section 6/2011

"Her canvases are composed of a combination of methodical arrangements of rectangular and square shapes embellished with line and often punctuated with a selective focal point of color that lends clarity and emphasis to the rest of the canvas. She works in acrylic, building up layers of color, and collage elements to create texture and patterns by scraping, rolling, scribing, scratching, and using dripping techniques to achieve the desired effects."-excerpt from "Deborah Colter: Design for painting"Tamar Russell - Martha's Vineyard Times 7/2010

..."Colter blends order and chaos in a more opposite fashion ... by using a more orderly and linear application of various media, textures, and marks that results in paintings that appear to be little internal rooms of controlled chaos. She likens her paintings to a “visual record of the mind” that mirrors the chaotic bombardment of images or “mixed messages” (hence the title of her show). By removing the obvious details of their subject matter and reducing them to simple, repetitive patterns we become aware of the play between the simple and the complex, leaving room for own interpretations of these alluring works."-excerpt from show review "Mixed Messages | Deborah T. Colter Tugging at Numbness with an Undertow of Something | Allison L. Compton Red Door Gallery" - Diane R. GunterUrge2/17/2008

…“Some work does appreciate. The Island (Martha's Vineyard) has its share of artists whose work is in consistent demand, and continues to significantly appreciate. Among others, they include Alan Whiting, Kib Bramhall, Deborah Colter, the late Stan Murphy, Wendy Weldon, and Ray Ellis. Their work continues to increase both in demand and value. “…- excerpt from"Art: For Love or Money", Karla Araujo - Martha's Vineyard Times, 6/28/07

"Colter’s use of color is noteworthy. Though she cites Van Gogh’s intense palette as an influence on her own work, she often applies neutral colors broadly and thematically to convey a fixed and familiar experience. Also, by repeating various objects and small patterns in each piece, she unifies other dissimilar elements that might otherwise stand alone. ...But Colter’s artwork is far from staid. While she defines boundaries, she’s not afraid to paint outside the lines. Instead, surprises await the viewer in every piece." ..."In all, Colter’s work speaks for itself. Each invites inspection. No interpretation necessary." - excerpt from"Art: Between Chaos and Harmony", Amy Simcik Williams- Martha's Vineyard Times, 7/28/05 Read Entire Article

"While this Island has no lack of art that is lovely to look at, it is always refreshing to see a show of work here that also engages the intellect." - excerpt from "Five Artists, One Nest: Group Show at The Dragonfly," Laura Roosevelt - Martha's Vineyard Times, 9/26/02

"Her works are intensely textured and colorful, with suggestions of geometry, pattern and hieroglyphics. In "Perception of Recall" as in other works, her use of plastic mesh suggests the seepage between our interior and exterior worlds, between truth and illusion. She implies that the spaces we deem to be containers for what is within are not, in fact impervious to what is outside, and vice versa. She describes her process as "trusting the inner thoughts of the mind as they reveal themselves purely through the act of creating" as though for her, the boundary between her internal and external worlds is almost imperceptible..." - excerpt from "Five Artists, One Nest: Group Show at The Dragonfly," Laura Roosevelt - Martha's Vineyard Times, 9/26/02

"Ms. Colter’s dazzling canvases express a linear quality through the architectural and directional lines that are scribed into the painted surfaces. Both her framed paper and canvas wrapped panels are structurally organized and complex. They are textured with overlays of metallic paint, screens, printed words, cut paper shapes and punctuated with perfectly placed dots and slashes of bright color..."- excerpt from "Artist's Discuss Joint Exhibition in Program at Dragonfly Gallery," CK Wolfson - The Vineyard Gazette, 9/27/02